Farewell, Hitsugaya-kun
by immabeanbag
Summary: The Winter War is over. Aizen has been defeated. Life was normal once more until one day; Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya receives a letter from the lieutenant of the fifth division inviting him to the upcoming Sakura Festival. However, she does not turn up. Will Toshiro be able to find her before he loses her forever? Complete summary inside.
1. Chapter 1: The First Letter

**Disclaimer:** I own this story line, the cover photo, this laptop, this pencil, this index card full of notes, and these fingers I am using to type this up with. Kubo Tite owns Bleach.

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**Synopsis:** The Winter War is over. Aizen has been defeated. Life was normal once more until one day; Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya receives a letter from the lieutenant of the fifth division inviting him to the upcoming Sakura Festival. When the day comes, however, she is nowhere to be found, but in her place is a farewell letter confessing her love for him and why she is leaving. Toshiro sets off to convince her to return (and along the way he realizes that he has fallen in love with her), but little did he know the clock was ticking until she committed suicide. Will Captain Hitsugaya manage to reach Hinamori and convince her in time before her life expires?

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**Author's Note:** This is my first fanfiction…. So don't be too harsh… If the story's bad…. I'm sorry! I really have no experience in writing fanfictions. :/ P.S. Sorry, Aznvkai, if you read this. I loved the way you format things so I decided to copy it. Please don't sue me.

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**Legend:** "_Thinking"_, **_What's written in the letter_**, "Talking", _Flashback,_

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**Farewell, Hitsugaya-kun**

**Chapter 1: **The First Letter

Captain Toshiro Hitsugaya sat at his desk in the 10th Division staring idly out of the window. He had already finished all of his paperwork… including his lazy lieutenant's as well. To anyone who spent a day like this, it probably would have been the most boring day in their life for them, but to Toshiro, it was a normal average day. He did; however, want something to spice his day up, for once. Maybe a party? Maybe a mission from Captain-Commander Yamamoto? Anything of the sorts. Little did he know, his prayers would soon be answered.

Pretty soon, a knock on his door was heard. Captain Hitsugaya wondered what could be waiting for him outside his office door.

"Come in," Hitsugaya quietly commanded. The door was slid open, revealing one of the Gotei 13 messenger boys, which, honestly, was quite rare, considering that they mainly used hell butterflies.

"Captain Hitsugaya! We have a letter addressed to you from the lieutenant of the fifth division. Please accept it," the messenger informed, handing the nicely rolled letter over to Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya took it in his hand.

"Thank you, you may leave," Toshiro responded. The door slid shut. _"I wonder about this letter…. Why would Hinamori send me a letter? She would usually come barging into my office blurting out whatever she wanted or needed me to do. I guess I'll have to open it and find out what the deal is." _Toshiro sighed and pulled at the neatly-tied string holding the letter closed. The string slipped through his fingers and onto the ground. Hitsugaya opened the letter and started to read, quite baffled at the contents.

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**_Dear Hitsugaya-kun,_**

**_ Haha. I know this may seem weird, hearing me ask you something through a letter, but I just wanted you to have a few things of me left before I go._**

Hitsugaya looked up from the letter. _"Before I go? What? What is she saying? Where is she going? She can't just leave the Soul Society."_ He re-directed his attention to the letter.

**_ You may be wondering what I meant by the last sentence, but I can't tell you, not yet. Anyways, pushing that matter aside, I must get to the purpose of why I wrote this letter. You know how the upcoming Sakura Festival is coming up? I was wondering if you could spare some time and meet me at the place we always loved to go to when we were younger and attended the festival._**

Toshiro once again tore his eyes away from the letter. _"An invitation? This was what this letter was the real objective of the letter? The idiot Bed-Wetter could have come to my office and asked me to go with her. But then again, the first sentence of the letter tells me otherwise." _He looked back down at the letter.

**_Remember, Shiro-chan? The pathway we always walked on? The trees lining the pathway? Watching the setting sky, trees surrounding us? It was a beautiful sight to us back then, and really, it still is, today. Please, Hitsugaya-kun, please come to the festival with me. Meet me there. Who knows, it may be the last time you ever see me._**

**_Your childhood friend,_**

**_Momo Hinamori_**

**_Lieutenant of the 5_****_th_****_ Division_**

Hitsugaya dropped the letter. _"The LAST time you will ever see me? What? What is she saying? This part is exactly like the beginning of the paragraph. There must be a hidden message in here." _He quickly picked up the letter and shoved it inside his desk. He had to go find her and ask what the letter meant.

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Rangiku Matsumoto sat lazily slumped over at a bar, sake bottle in hand, with Kira and Renji. It was a normal day, her slacking off to drink with her friends, but somehow she felt that today WASN'T normal. It was hard to explain, but she felt that something bad would happen to one of her friends. She thought of her captain, sort of feeling guilty for lying to him and saying she had a lieutenant's meeting. Oh well, at least she was slightly truthful. She WAS with two other lieutenants. In a sense, she was at a lieutenants' meeting. But she really shouldn't care now…. Not until Hitsugaya found out.

Matsumoto looked at Kira. _"Sleeping, eh? Say…. I feel sleepy, too… Finding what happens to one of my friends will have to wait, I guess…"_ Slowly, Matsumoto closed her eyes, unknowing that her subtle premonition was far worse then she could ever expect.

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Hitsugaya ran to the fifth division. _"I have to find her. Hopefully she's here somewhere in the fifth division. Sometime I wonder what goes on in her head."_

Toshiro slid open the lieutenant's office door. No sign of her. He closed the door and ran to her personal room. He knocked on it. No answer. He slammed the door open. She wasn't anywhere. _"Where the heck can she be? If she's not in her office or her personal room, then where else would she be?"_ Then it clicked. She must be in a meeting. After Matsumoto had said that there was a lieutenant's meeting **(A/N: Ahaha. Poor Hitsugaya. He will have a lot of yelling to do when he finds out that Matsumoto was lying.)** _"I guess I'll just have to wait. I might as well get ready for tomorrow. You know what? I'll ask her tomorrow, as well." _But little did he know, he was making one of the biggest mistakes of his life that would send him on a quest to retrieve the love of his life.

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**Author's Note:** Ahhh. Sorry about how bad it sounds. Sorry that it's so short. To be completely honest, I'm not very proud of how my writing style is for this chapter. So, if possible, please do me a favor and press that review button down there. I would love your suggestions for what may happen next and favorite parts (LOL. There's nothing really happening in this chapter.). Anyways, this author's note will probably end right now. Until next time, sayonara! (Japanese for goodbye, if you didn't know.)


	2. Chapter 2: The Festival

**Disclaimer:** I am definitely Kubo Tite. I speak Japanese. You see, I am speaking Japanese right now! Not. I'm still immabeanbag and I still don't own Bleach.

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**Author's Note:** The second installation of…. Uhh…. I really don't know how many chapters there will be…. I guess I'll determine it along the way. I mean I have the story plan and everything… but I just don't know how much space it will take me to finish this. Anyways, moving on. Enjoy the chapter. I just realized that Toshiro seems so OOC… but maybe this happens to him and he just keeps it a secret. Who knows… he can't always be a block of ice with no emotions.

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**Legend: **"_Thinking"_, **_What's written in the letter_**, "Talking", _Flashback, __**"Hyourinmaru or Tobiume speaking"**_

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**Farewell, Hitsugaya-kun**

**Chapter 2: **The Festival

Kimonos, they're a beautiful thing, really, the soft, loose, smooth fabric brushing against your skin every time you move. The beautiful patterns woven into the fabric makes a kimono even more elegant and magnificent. For an ordinary person, it would take forever to choose just one kimono, let alone the perfect one for a festival theme. However, Toshiro Hitsugaya was no ordinary person. Heck. He didn't even care about wearing a handsome kimono. He just wanted to get to the festival and ask Hinamori all the questions he wanted… and maybe ogle at how pretty she may look in her kimono.

Toshiro paced around in his private sleeping room waiting for the festival to draw nearer. He hadn't had a wink of sleep since yesterday when he read the letter. The festival would start approximately in an hour and he was all ready and set to go. Well, almost. His nerves were the only thing that was unprepared. _"What does Hinamori have to say for herself? What is she doing? What did she mean? Where is she going? Why will this be the last time I ever see her? Will I miss her if she leaves? Why am I worrying now? What time is it?"_ Toshiro had many questions on his mind that he couldn't answer. His nervousness was starting to show and gradually worsened, until…

"CAPTAIN!" A yell called out to him, shaking him from his thoughts. Instantly, Hitsugaya steeled his nerves and reverted back to his icy cold, non-caring attitude. He turned around and was met with two huge pillow-like blobs, muffling his voice as he started to speak. Instantly, he knew who it was. He put a hand on his assaulter's collar-bone and the other on the person's stomach and pushed himself away with as much force as he could, trying not to harm the person. He glared.

"What do you want, Matsumoto? As you can see, I am very busy," Hitsugaya lied. _"Shoot. How can I be busy if there's nothing surrounding me? Matsumoto will know for sure that I am lying. So much for me being a 'genius'."_ Matsumoto chuckled.

"No you're not, Captain. I know you aren't. In fact, you are getting ready for the Sakura Festival in which you will meet up with Hinamori, right?" Rangiku grinned mischievously. Hitsugaya allowed a shocked looked to slip past the icy barrier of emotion for a split second. _"How would SHE of all people know that I was going to the festival with Hinamori? But then again, Hinamori comes to her often about advice and such. Or maybe she's just messing with me to make me try to confess that I like her and that I asked her to go with me." _He glared at her once more. _"OR I might as well tell her the truth and see if she knows anything about the hidden meaning behind the letter. Oh well. I'll wing it."_

"Yes, Matsumoto, I will be leaving to go to the Sakura Festival with Hinamori. Did you know that she sent me a letter on paper personally inviting me to go with her?" He grimaced at how arrogant and boastful that comment sounded. _"So much for winging it." _Matsumoto's eyes started to twinkle.

"Oh, so I WAS right after all! And a letter on paper! I guess inviting you must really be important enough for her to write it on paper! How sweet! Captain! You should definitely confess your feelings to her! And make sure it's from the heart!" Toshiro glared at her once again. _"Huh. She doesn't know. How pointless this idea was. Now I just have to wait for tomorrow to hear rumors about me and her spreading all around the Soul Society. How great."_

"Yes, Matsumoto. I'll be sure NOT to do all the things you have listed. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish getting ready for the festival. Goodbye." He pushed her out of his private room and shut the door. He glanced at the clock. The festival started in half-an-hour. Hitsugaya sighed. _"I guess I'll just have to wait until it is time to leave. In the meantime, I need to get my thoughts straightened out."_

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Momo was already at the festival, waiting for Hitsugaya's arrival, a neatly rolled letter safely in the grasp of her hands. Hah. How odd it seems that she was here before him. She had many many things to tell him before she left…. For good. She had always felt that she had been a burden to him, always having to be the damsel in distress and him, the knight in shining armor. How troublesome it must be for him if he always had to save her. In fact, after thinking about this, she had a sudden change of heart. _"You know, I don't think he wants to see me…Maybe I should just leave my letter for him here. He must hate me, having to always help me when I'm in need. Maybe I should just skip my goodbyes to him and just leave. He'll probably like that." _And on that sad note, she gently placed the letter on the ground, hid her spiritual pressure, and left the festival grounds unnoticed.

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Hitsugaya walked to the place where Hinamori had asked them to meet. He looked around. She wasn't here yet. _"Hah. Typical Bed-wetter Momo. I always beat her to things. But wait, why do I sense traces of her spiritual pressure? Maybe she was here before me after all. Maybe she went to go look around a bit because she was waiting for me. Maybe I should go around the festival grounds to see if I can find her." _It was then Hitsugaya moved and kicked something. He looked down. It was a letter addressed to him in very familiar handwriting. _"Hinamori…? Why is there a letter addressed to me here? I might as well open it now and see what it says."_ And yet again, Hitsugaya opened a letter that sent his cold, controlled emotional façade into a mumbled jumbled bumbling mess.

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**Author's Note:** Huh. This chapter is slightly longer than the first one…. I don't think my writing style has improved at all since the last chapter, either. Oh well, bear with me until this story is over and I'll try to fix it. On a different matter, REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! PLEASE! I can't wait to hear suggestions and stuff from you guys…. Although no one has done anything yet… :/ But that can be changed! J


	3. Chapter 3: The Second Letter

**Disclaimer:** All hail Tite Kubo, who I am obviously not. Please don't sue.

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**Author's Note:** Time for Chapter Three! I tried to make this one much longer than the others. Hehe…. - ^ -" The styles probably still bad, but I tried, okay. Hyourinmaru and Tobiume will probably appear in this chapter. I meant for them to show up but having it end at a cliffie was too much for me to resist. Lol. :D Also, expect a couple of flashbacks. :D

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**Legend: **"_Thinking"_, **_What's written in the letter_**, "Talking", _Flashback, __**"Hyourinmaru or Tobiume speaking"**_

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**Farewell, Hitsugaya-kun**

**Chapter 3:** The Second Letter

**_Dear Hitsugaya-kun,_**

**_ By the time you have opened this and read this sentence, I have already left Soul Society. Don't come after me, Hitsugaya-kun. I have thought long and hard about this decision you see? I don't want to burden you anymore. If you are confused, let me explain._**

Hitsugaya furrowed his eyebrows. Feh. He wasn't confused. In fact, just the word confused was an understatement. Instead, he was EXTREMELY and ÜBERLY perplexed. _"Why would she just leave? What have we done wrong? What have I done wrong?"_

**_Don't worry. It's not because of you that I am leaving Soul Society… well maybe it slightly involves you, but I'll get to that later. I'm leaving Soul Society for and almost completely different reason. I think. Yes. I am._**

Toshiro sweat-dropped. _"Seriously...? She doesn't know exactly why she is running away…? Sounds exactly like her…. Clumsy and stupid sometimes."_

**_ I'm running away because of my troubles. Haha. I realized how cowardly that sounds…. To run away from my troubles… but I'll tell you why. Remember how, a long time ago, you found me on the ground of Central 46 when Aizen stabbed me? You thought I was dead or passed out, but I wasn't. I was just on the brink of consciousness… I couldn't move, couldn't speak, and couldn't scream for you to run away. You asked what happened to me. Aizen said I was just a part of his plan. He said he should have cut me up into pieces to spare you the trouble. You were enraged. And then you engaged battle with Aizen. You were hit with his sword, as well. And then it was over. Aizen and Gin left to go get the Hogyoku. I passed out… but I remembered feeling the pain and sorrow for you, on top of the pain I was feeling. I couldn't bear to see you like that again, trying to risk your life to avenge or protect me. I couldn't bear to see you hurt again. And then the Winter War came along. Up until that point, I really could not believe that Aizen had really gone to the bad side. He was the father figure I've always wanted but never had. Then Aizen tricked you into thinking that I was him and you stabbed me. At first I didn't understand but yet again I held onto my consciousness and saw what was to unfold. You screamed at how he had hurt me yet again and swore you were going to kill him. You charged into battle, but Aizen beat you. You were blinded by your rage to get revenge for what he did to me and Aizen cut off your left arm and leg. Luckily Unohana was there to save you. You could have died! I don't understand why you would risk your life for me, though. I'm just your friend and a burden to you. You always have to protect me when something bad happens. I constantly put you in danger! You might even die for me sometime if something bad ever happens to me again… and I don't want to do that…. I don't want to do that because…. Because you are so very dear to me, Shiro-chan. It's because… I love you. I would die for you… I would die for you…. To protect you…. But that never happens because our roles will always be switched. So, Shiro-chan, do me a favor. Please, I'm begging you don't come after me. I don't want you to die. Don't worry about me. I can handle myself. This is goodbye, Shiro-chan. It's best that you forget me. I don't mind. But remember, I love you, Toshiro Hitsugaya, and I will always love you forever until my death. I will never forget you. Ever._**

**_With all my love,_**

**_Momo Hinamori_**

Toshiro stared at the letter. Despite his high IQ and ability to comprehend things quickly, he could not understand the letter at all. Not one single word of it. He read the letter again. And that's when the letter's meaning hit him. _"This must be a dream… Momo's still here. She has to be. She wouldn't leave me… but why would I care if she does….? It's not like I love her… but her points make sense… I always protect her… and I really am willing to sacrifice myself for her happiness! Is this what they call love? The feeling of protectiveness and attraction toward a person? The feeling of always wanting to be together? If that is so…. I have always been in love with her… ever since she entered my life and became my friend when no one else would. I love…. Momo…. Hinamori. I love her…. I love her and she left me when I realized it! Well, no…. not really…. Ish…. Well, she sort of led me to the conclusion that I loved her when she brought up those points… but – Momo Hinamori loves me back! And I love her, too! I can't let her go! I have to go and find her, and fast! And…"_ As Hitsugaya was battling a mental war with his logical and emotional side, Hyourinmaru appeared out of nowhere, startling his already shaken up master.

**_"Young master."_**

_"Hinamori…. Hinamori…. I have to save her. I have to—"_

**_"Young master!"_**

_"Save her. I love her. She loves me. I have to save her…. Momo, you can't leave. She has to return I'll make her return… I have—"_

**_"YOUNG MASTER, TOSHIRO HITSUGAYA!"_**

_"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU—Oh. Sorry, Hyourinmaru. I was too busy thinking about something."_

**_"I could tell. Actually, I knew you were because I was thinking something similar, too."_**

_"Let me guess, you were thinking about Tobiume, were you not?"_

**_"Err… Uhh…. Ahem. That is enough, young master. Let us not talk about my Tobiume and instead about what you are going to do to get Lieutenant Hinamori back to the Soul Society."_**

_"Hyourinmaru… 'My Tobiume'? Are you not telling me something here….?"_

**_"NEVERMIND THAT, YOUNG MASTER. LET US FOCUS ON CONVINCING LIEUTENANT TOB – I MEAN HINAMORI TO COME BACK TO SOUL SOCIETY."_**

_"Hyourinmaru, Don't try to hide it. I know that you have a thing for Tobiume. Anyways, let us think of a plan to bring them back. We have to go and find her, but to start off, where would she go? I'm not really sure, but she might have left some clues in her office or private room. Let us goo check there, first."_

**_"Yes, young master."_**

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Hyourinmaru and Hitsugaya entered Momo's office. It was fairly small and simple, which made snooping through it much easier for them. Hitsugaya made a beeline straight for her desk. The first drawer was open and papers were scattered on the floor.

_"Hyourinmaru… Look at this…"_

**_"What is it, young master? Oh. That. Yes. I noticed it when we first came in. It seems that Hinamori must have rummaged through it to find something and forgot to put things back."_**

_"Or she could be leaving us some accidental clues."_

Toshiro pointed to a small note nearby. It said 'don't forget to lock journal. Lock code is 6 – 24 – 15'.

**_"We should probably check her room, young master. Her journal could be in there."_**

_"Yes, Hyourinmaru. That would be a good idea."_

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Hyourinmaru slid open Momo's private bedroom door and peered around.

**_"Young master. Nothing seems disturbed in here."_**

_"Look again, Hyourinmaru. That may be what it seems like at the first glance, but check the floorboard near her futon. It is slightly crooked. It seems that she was in a hurry to leave, explaining the mess at her desk and the crooked floorboard. Let us take a look at what is under it."_

Hyourinmaru decided to explore Momo's room, as this was the first time he had ever been here, leaving Hitsugaya to do whatever he pleased with the floorboard. Toshiro pried the floorboard from the ground, revealing a small journal with a lock on it. This must have been the journal with the lock the small note in Hinamori's desk had mentioned. Toshiro knew he had to open the lock. Maybe he would find something of value in there. Rummaging through his brain, he remembered what the combination on the note was and quickly unlocked the lock. **(A/N: **'unlocked the lock'. Sorry. It sounds too redundant. I couldn't think of another word.**) **He quickly opened the journal and something slipped out. Toshiro set the journal aside and reached for the slip of paper, eyes widening as he read what it said.

_"Hyourinmaru, stop rummaging through Momo's desk looking for stuff that associates with Tobiume and come here and look at this."_

**_"MASTER! I AM NOT –"_**

_"Hyourinmaru, I don't care at the moment. Take a look at this!"_

Toshiro shoved the slip of paper frantically into Hyourinmaru's face, making Hyourinmaru's eyes widen as well. They both could not comprehend what they had just seen, because there, before them, lay a small brochure about the benefits of living in Karakura Town.

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**Author's Note:** Woot! Another chapter done! And much longer this time, as well! Anyway, Hinamori has gone to the Human world to stay and Toshiro and Hyourinmaru were very surprised! What will happen next? Stay tuned for the next chapter of **Farewell, Hitsugaya-kun** to find out!


	4. Chapter 4: To the Living World

**Disclaimer:** Nope! Still not Tite Kubo. Last time I checked, I'm still female and live in the US.

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**Author's**** Note:** Mehhhh. I really have nothing to say. Just that I finished this chapter in the day I posted the third chapter. Let's just get on with the story, kay? Kay.

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**Legend: **"_Thinking"_, **_What's written in the letter_**, "Talking", _Flashback, __**"Hyourinmaru or Tobiume speaking"**_

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**Farewell, Hitsugaya-kun**

**Chapter 4:** To the Living World

**_"I honestly don't know why you chose Karakura town, Momo. There's really nothing special here. And why are you using a spiritual pressure-concealing gigai? There's obviously no threat existing here anymore."_**

_"Tobiume, I have my reasons. There is something that I left here last time I went to the living world. I need to pick it up, because it's quite dangerous if I left here, unattended for too long."_

**_"Master, are you talking about that kido bomb you created a long time ago? Didn't it have the life time of one week before draining out all of your spiritual energy, leaving you hopeless and as good as dead?"_**

_"Yes, Tobiume. That is the one. However, I'm not intending to use it on anyone else. I'm planning on using it on me."_

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Hitsugaya paced around the room. _"How the heck will I get permission from Captain-Commander Yamamoto to cross through the Senkaimon? There obviously is no reason for it. Maybe I can bargain with one of the noble clans and ask if I may be able to use their personal Senkaimon. I'll go confront Captain Kuchiki. He should be able to understand because he, after all, was in love once before."_ With this newfound idea in mind, Hitsugaya flash stepped off to find the 6th division captain, but not before hastily scribbling down a note to Matsumoto saying that he would be out for a while and that she would have to do her paperwork **(A/N: **Which would be highly unlikely. Lol.**) **He quickly stashed Momo's journal into his pocket so that he could read later, if he was ever stuck with finding her. She must have forgotten to bring it with her to the human world.

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Hitsugaya knocked on the 6th division's captain's office's door **(A/N: **Wow. A lot of possessives.**)** Captain Kuchiki was probably working on paperwork (which Hitsugaya has neglected for the past few days, focusing his mind, instead on finding Hinamori.) and would be slightly delayed to open the door. Hitsugaya waited for a few more seconds and just as he was about to knock again, the door opened and Renji appeared, looking quite surprised.

"Captain Hitsugaya! What are you doing here at this time of day? Don't you have work to do?" Renji bombarded Toshiro as he stepped through the door.

"Never mind that, Lieutenant Abarai. Where is your captain? I have something very urgent to discuss to him." Hitsugaya quickly replied.

"Captain Hitsugaya, it is a pleasant surprise to see you here." Captain Kuchiki appeared out of nowhere scaring Renji off his feet, but unfazing Hitsugaya.

"Yes, Captain Kuchiki, I would like to speak to you… alone," Hitsugaya replied looking at Renji. Renji didn't move, "Ahem. Renji…. Alone."

"Oh, yes, sorry. My bad, Captain Hitsugaya. I bid you farewell." And with that, Renji left the room. Hitsugaya walked over to Captain Kuchiki and in a low tone he said, "Captain Kuchiki. Let me make get to the point… I was wondering if I may have your permission to use your personal Senkaimon to travel to the living world."

"And why do you need to use it, young captain? And why would you consult me and not some other noble? It is obvious you have a very good reputation and no noble would refuse to you."

"Kuchiki, the reason why I am asking you is about… love. I'm pretty sure you will understand, with your experience with Lady Kuchiki and all." Hitsugaya fiddled around with his fingers when he said the word love. Byakuya noticed his actions and immediately replied without hesitation.

"I see. Let us go to my dwelling and along the way, you shall tell me the entire story of why you need to leave for the human world."

* * *

"Hmmm. This entire mission is for you to retrieve Hinamori from the human world. I see. However, young captain, know that love is a treacherous thing. Safely returning Hinamori to Soul Society will not be easy, but I am sure you will find a way. Safe travels, Captain Hitsugaya." And with that, Captain Kuchiki opened the gate to his personal Senkaimon. Hitsugaya went through and almost immediately he arrived in the Living world. Getting to the living world was now off his list, but now, finding Hinamori would be the hard part. He couldn't detect her spiritual pressure at all.

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**_"Hinamori. I sense Hitsugaya's spiritual pressure. Why has he come to the living world?"_**

_"I am not sure, Tobiume. Maybe he has been assigned a mission. Hopefully my back-up plan that I have set in motion will make sure our paths never cross. Let me explain. Remember how I have a spiritual pressure concealing gigai? Hopefully he will not recognize me and I will get away with my plan of ending my life. After all, I have already retrieved the kido bomb. However, if he does manage to find me, I'll be sure to end my life right then and there."_

**_"Master Hinamori…. But what about me? I do not want to die yet. I still have many things I wish to do. It is a selfish reason for you to die and bring me down with you."_**

_"Tobiume, I am pretty sure you would be doing the same to Hyourinmaru, am I right? Well, let's say we switch spots. If Hyourinmaru died to protect you, how would you feel? Guilty? Sad? The latter? I am trying to prevent us from making Toshiro or Hyourinmaru from risking their lives to save us. It is a fool proof plan. I am sure of it. Now let us begin to set off that kido bomb. I will be using it since I still wish to explore the world of the living."_

**_"Yes, Master. Let us begin the chant."_**

"Hado, Number 98: Kaishi Suru!" **(A/N: **Made this up. Kaishi Suru means to commence in Japanese, so basically she's telling the kido bomb to awaken and become active.**) **A massive column of spiritual energy appeared for a split second and disappeared. The bomb was now active and the countdown to Hinamori's death began.

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_"Hyourinmaru, did you feel that? It's felt like Hinamori's spiritual pressure!"_

**_"Yes, master, high spiritual pressure was just released in the nearby forest of Karakura town. It definitely had traces of her spiritual pressure. She must have cast a kido spell on something."_**

_"Come on, Hyourinmaru, let us hope she is still there!"_

**_"Yes, Master."_**

Hyourinmaru and Hitsugaya set off in the direction of the forest, flash-stepping as fast as they could. With their luck, Hinamori would still be there casting another kido spell.

They reached the edge of the forest in a mere forty-five seconds and stepped quickly to the spot where the traces of spiritual energy remained. There they found a small circular orb of kido with numbers moving and counting down. Toshiro wondered what it could be, but he knew Hinamori had some sort of connection with it, since he could sense lingering traces of her spiritual pressure. However, finding out what that orb would have to wait. His first objective was to find Hinamori, which at this point, quite impossible, since he could no longer feel her spiritual pressure. Hitsugaya looked down and spotted a footprints leading out of the forest. What luck he had! Slipping the small orb of kido into his pocket, Toshiro flash-stepped out of the forest and kept a sharp eye for Hinamori. Luckily, he spotted a small figure in the distance that looked exactly like her. And so, the chase to catch her began.

* * *

Hinamori turned around. She saw Hitsugaya and was shocked to find he was looking at her. _"Oh no. How did he find me? Did I somehow accidentally release some of my spiritual energy? That doesn't matter. I have got to get out of here. I can't run into him. I can't terminate my life so soon."_ Hinamori quickly flash-stepped as far as she could, quickly forgetting the fact that she had said she would kill herself immediately, if she was confronted by Hitsugaya.

"Bakudo, Number 61: Rikudou Kourou." Hinamori was instantly trapped in a kido prison, too strong for her to break. She looked to her right and saw Hitsugaya quickly approaching her. He released the spell but quickly cast another. "Bakudo, Number 1: Sai."

At last, the chase ended and they meet again.

* * *

Hinamori looked up at Hitsugaya, arms bound behind her back, glaring at him. How dare he bind her like this? She at least expected a strong grasp to her arm or something near the bull's eye, but using kido? That was just plain rude.

"Tch. Why are you here, Captain Hitsugaya? Did you not read the letter I gave you? I told you specifically to not come after me. What I do in the living world has no concern with you," Hinamori spat. Hitsugaya looked shocked for a mere second. Just not long ago, she had confessed her love for him and now she was trash-talking him and shooing him out of her life.

"Hinamori. I believe you owe me some answers. Tell me, why did you decide to run away?"

"THAT is none of your business."

"Yes, that may be; however, I believe this has to do with you," Toshiro calmly replied, casting the first question aside. He would have to force the answer out of her later. He pulled out the small orb of kido he had found earlier. Hinamori's eyes instantly became huge. Hitsugaya had found the kido bomb.

"H-how did y-you find that?" She stuttered. She knew she couldn't tell him what it was because it would stick her deeper into the predicament, with him begging her to release the kido spell she cast upon herself; begging her not to die. She sat for a while, waiting for his answer, and thought of a plan to get out of this mess.

"I guess you answering my questions will have to wait. However, I will answer yours. It was in the forest. I found it there when I felt a burst of spiritual energy come out of the forest and tracked it to this little thing. I immediately connected it to you, because I had felt a small sliver of your spiritual energy mixed in with it. Now please do me a favor and tell me what this is."

"Hitsugaya-kun…. I'll tell you if you let me out of this binding. It's a long story."

"Alright then," Hitsugaya lifted the spell and sat down on the ground, waiting for her to begin. He saw her open her mouth to begin speaking. He listened intently and closed his eyes, waiting for her voice to travel to his ears.

"Hado, Number 11: Tsuzuri Raiden." Momo muttered. Hitsugaya quickly jumped up to move out of the way, but it was too late, "I'm sorry, Shiro-chan, this is for your own good."

Out of the corner of his eye, Hitsugaya saw that Hinamori had flash-stepped away. _"Sorry? For my own good? What does she mean?" _But before he could think about what just happened any further, Toshiro felt himself lose consciousness.

* * *

**Author's note:** Ooooh…. Hinamori's turned evil! She knocked him out with lightning and ran away! Oh no! What will Hitsugaya do now? When will be the next time they meet? Stay tuned to see what happens. And sorry…. My writing quality declined today since I finished this chapter in a day.


	5. Chapter 5: The First Signs of Death

**Disclaimer:** Tite Kubo owns Bleach. I own this story. Together, we make the epic team of Hitsuhina stuff! I mean he has the characters I use and stuff… *haha*

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ehhhhhhhh. School work is so boring. Especially during the first week of school. High school's a bore, already, giving you math and stuff on the first day of school. And reading syllabuses are really boring, too. I wish it was the middle of the school year. Then it would be much more fun. I guess. Anyways enough about me. Here's the fifth chapter.

* * *

**Legend: **"_Thinking"_, **_What's written in the letter/journal_**, "Talking", _Flashback, __**"zanpakuto speaking"**_

* * *

**Farewell, Hitsugaya-kun**

**Chapter 5:** The First Signs of Death

6 days left

Hinamori coughed. And coughed. And coughed some more. Apparently the kido bomb was getting to her. It really was draining her powers, and quickly, that is. She had just walked around looking for places to go to and she was already wheezing and coughing. At this rate, she might be dead before the seven days were over! Momo coughed again and took a swig of water. She was going to have to get home to get a more water.

* * *

Hitsugaya stared at the kido sphere (still unknown to him so it's still called the kido sphere) as its lighted numerical features were counting down. He wondered what the numbers could mean….. _"What could it be possibly be telling me? Why does the numbers count down like so? Could it be a countdown to something? Maybe it's a bomb and it's a countdown until it explodes? But why would Hinamori want to blow up Karakura town? That doesn't seem logical. She really has nothing against it… I can sense her reiatsu from this thing… And it keeps getting stronger…. Is there a bond between her and the sphere? What could she be possibly be hiding?"_

* * *

Hinamori was lying down on her hotel room bed. She had gone to the nearest hotel in Karakura town and rented out a twin bed room. Boy, she was tired. And lonely…. If only Toshiro was here to rid her of her boredom… He was always there for her…

_Flashback_

_ "Oi, Bed-wetter. You're gonna get sick if you stay in the water any longer. It's the middle of winter and the water's starting to get cold. Hurry out." Hitsugaya was standing on the small hut's patio._

_ "Mou… Shiro-chan! I like showers and winter! Warm showers in winter are awesome! And yeah, you're right. The water is getting cold. I should probably get out." Hinamori stood up in the tub. She turned to look at Hitsugaya whose face was entirely red. "Shiro-chan…. Why are you red in the face?"_

_ "B-b-baka! Get a towel or something! You're completely naked! I don't want to see you naked!"_

* * *

_ "Ne… Shiro-chan…"_

_ "Stop calling me that, Bed-wetter!"_

_ "Mouuuu! I don't wet the bed anymore!"_

_ "Sure sure, whatever. What were you going to say?"_

_ "Nothing. I just wanted to say that the sunset is nice today. And the watermelons are so yummy!" _

_"They sure are."Momo and Toshiro were sitting side-by-side on the roof looking at the sunset eating watermelons. Hinamori closed her eyes… The last tendrils of the sun were so warm against her face. Soon, she would have to embrace the cold again… but maybe that wouldn't be. Toshiro would be her sun at night. Momo smiled._

_"Thank you Shiro-chan."_

_ "Huh? Did you say something, Bed-wetter?"_

_ "Mouuuu! Shiro-chan!"_

* * *

_ "Say, Shiro-chan, have you ever thought of what you want to be when you grow up?"_

_ "No. Why? I like these days just as they are."_

_ "Shiro-chan, they won't last forever. Nothing lasts forever. So, it's good to have a future planned. Me? I want to be a shinigami! And save people from those nasty hollows! They're so wretched! Eating souls like that. I don't want that to ever happen anymore! Not on my watch!"_

_ "Shut up, Bed-wetter. You talk too much."_

_ "Shiro-channnn!"_

_Flashback ends_

Momo sighed. _"Ah… the Rukongai days. How I wish I were back to those times. Those times with the person I love."_ She coughed. Momo grunted and got up to get a glass of water. Hinamori looked at the calendar. Six more days of life left to live. And she felt like crap.

* * *

"GODDAMMIT! HINAMORI!" Toshiro slammed his fist against the wall. He had just spent three hours staring and analyzing the kido sphere, taking notes of its structural complex, trying to find the slightest clue of what Momo had done to herself. He had even gone back to the site where he had felt her activate this small orb-ish thing. Then he remembered. He had her journal. Maybe he could confront it and see if he could find out what the hell this thing was. He fished it out of his knapsack that he brought along with necessities stored inside, flipped open the cover, and started reading.

**_January 27_****_th_****_, 2011_**

**_Ah… Hello. You're my journal. Nice to meet you. I'm Momo Hinamori, currently Soul Society's fifth division lieutenant. To be honest, I never really wanted to start this journal, but Captain Unohana said it would be a good thing to do, releasing all my feelings into this journal, instead of keeping it cooped up all the time. She said that it would help me emotionally heal faster, although I don't need healing. I'm fine, really. I have opened my eyes to what Aizen really is. I really did change for the better after the Winter War _****(A/N:**Let's just say that the Winter War ended two years ago and she was still recovering during the two years between now and present time. I started watching Bleach in the recently past summer… So uhm… yeah.**)****_! Aizen really did betray us! And I was stabbed. Again. By Aizen. Well, sort of. I was stabbed by Hitsugaya-kun, but he was under the impression that I was Aizen because Aizen was using his shikai to deceive everyone. Anyways, I guess that's enough for now._**

Hitsugaya stared at the page. She had mentioned him stabbing her. It really was an unpleasant memory… but history is history. It must be recorded and kept track of. Hitsugaya flipped a few more pages of the journal.

**_March 14_****_th_****_, 2011_**

**_Today was White Day. Apparently it's a holiday in the World of the Living and it's supposed to be about guys giving gifts to their crush or loved ones. I really hoped that Shiro-chan would give me some chocolates, but I didn't see him all day. I guess he was too busy with his paperwork that Matsumoto left for him to do. It's okay, though. After recovering from my obsession of Aizen, I realized that I loved Hitsugaya-kun. He had always been there for me… even when I pointed my zanpakuto at him. He forgave me, though. He's so nice! I guess that's why I love him. That and the fact that I grew up with him and thinking of myself with any other man would be odd. I wonder when I should confess to him…_**

**_May 30_****_th_****_, 2011_**

**_Hitsugaya-kun hasn't been around a lot, lately. I went to the tenth division today and asked if I could see him. However, Matsumoto said he wasn't there. How odd. He's usually at his desk doing paperwork. Also, sometimes if I stay late with Matsumoto, Hitsugaya comes back all sweaty and tired, as if the entire day he's been training. Maybe he is training! Maybe he's getting prepared if anyone like Aizen would come around again! Maybe I should start training, too. I need to get stronger so that I won't be so dependent on Shiro-chan. He's so kind…_**

**_June 28_****_th_****_, 2011_**

**_I've been training very hard for the past few weeks. Soon I will reach bankai and maybe I can take over the fifth division. I want to become as strong as Shiro-chan! Maybe we could one day we could fight and see who is stronger. That might be fun… bankai against bankai… Actually no…. What if I hurt Shiro-chan? That would make me feel so bad. I can't stand to see Shiro-chan hurt. It makes me hurt, too._**

Toshiro skipped to the middle of the journal.

**_September 18_****_th_****_, 2012_**

**_A long time ago, I used to wonder why Shiro-chan was training so hard. I had always thought that he was training to be prepared for the next battle if someone like Aizen had ever endangered Soul Society again. I was wrong. Last night when I was talking with Matsumoto (She was doing her paperwork and I decided to drop by and keep her company)_****, ****_Hitsugaya-kun came back, bleeding. I immediately performed first-aid on him, of course. After, I sent him to his room to rest up. It was painful to see him hurt. Matsumoto said it was normal. I thought, 'How odd! Why would Shiro-chan constantly be injured?' I asked Matsumoto what time he would leave in the morning to train. She said around six o'clock in the morning. So earlier today, I slipped in at around five and concealed my spiritual pressure. Now that I'm also in the captain level (I still haven't done the Captain's exam yet….), Shiro-chan wasn't able to identify my reiatsu. When he got up, I followed him to where he would go every day. It turns out that he goes far out into the forest near the Rukongai District to train. And I found out that the reason he trains every day, so fiercely and hazardously, was to grow stronger…. Just to protect me. I realized that _****I ****_have been the one to cause Shiro-chan these injuries. It was for my sake. I feel like trash. I'm a burden to him! I must find some way to make this right! Maybe I should go consult my kido blueprints for the bomb I created for the Winter War._**

Toshiro flipped the page. Instead of journal entries, he found a blueprint and formulas on how to make a kido bomb that fed itself on the reiatsu of the victim. He looked at the compounds and structural complex. It matched that of the kido sphere. Then it hit him on the head like a rock.

Momo Hinamori had activated the kido bomb on herself and was slowly dying.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Oh no…. Hitsugaya found out that Hinamori's planning to commit suicide! What will he do next? Maybe he'll try to find her and convince her to reverse the spell? On a side note….. Sorry about the late update. I was sort of neglecting the story and doing homework instead. To make up for this, I made the chapter a little bit longer than normal... but shorter than the last chapter. Hmm. I doubt anyone reads the Author's Note.


	6. Chapter 6: Matsumoto's Hunch

**Disclaimer:** Tite Kubo owns Bleach.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Eh. I guess. Matsumoto's not gonna take a big part in this story after all. I was planning to go along the lines of Matsumoto figuring out what happens to Hinamori and finds a way to reverse the kido spell… but I'd rather use… nevermind (spoilers). I guess she can play a smaller role and still help out her captain. The story's pretty much already halfway through. All that's left is the falling action.

* * *

**Legend: **"_Thinking"_, **_What's written in the letter/journal_**, "Talking", _Flashback, __**"zanpakuto speaking"**_

* * *

**Farewell, Hitsugaya-kun**

**Chapter 6:** Matsumoto's Hunch

5 days left

Toshiro paced around the room frantically; sweating in fear of how much time Momo had left to live. It didn't exactly specify in the journal, but he knew that her time was very short. Somehow he had to find a way to reverse the kido. Gosh, love was infuriating.

**_"Master….."_**

_"Yes, Hyourinmaru?"_

**_"You know…. It wouldn't hurt to analyze the kido bomb once more after learning all this knowledge… Sure you aren't as good at kido as Lieutenant Hinamori, but you are fairly good."_**

_"Gee, Hyourinmaru. Thanks for the compliment. Anyways, I will take your advice and analyze the bomb once more."_

Hitsugaya took out the small kido bomb from his knapsack. He could feel its power steadily increasing. He knew from the blueprints that it was designed to suck the spirit energy of a captain-class shinigami out at a fairly fast rate. Too fast of a rate for the spirit energy to be recovered. He started to panic. _"Shit! What if I'm too late when I figure out how to save her? What if she's already dead? How will I continue to live? My only reason to get stronger will have disappeared! What will happen to me? What will happen to… us?"_

* * *

"Hack… hack hack hack hack… I feel…." Hinamori rapidly coughed. She could barely speak. If this level of a cough were to continue for the next few days, she might as well lose her voice all together. _"Huh…. I'm glad I didn't set this bomb off… It would make me feel terrible of what I have done. No one deserves to die like this… well… Aizen is an exception…. Ahh…. Toshiro…. Wait… what am I thinking? I can't think about him. He's off limits. He has to move on! He can't be stuck on protecting me forever… Protecting me forever… That sounds nice… Maybe…. Maybe….. it wouldn't hurt…. For him to protect me forever… As long I as I protect him… Him…."_

**_"Momo….. Cheer up…."_**

_"Tobiume! Tobiume… I feel so bad… What if Hitsugaya-kun really does love me back? What if it's too late to reverse the kido bomb and I die and he breaks down? Will he be able to recover? I can't leave him! If there's a possible chance that he loves me, I might hurt him beyond repair! I have to reverse this!"_

**_"Master….. Have you forgotten why you activated the bomb in the first place? Didn't you say it was for his sake? Did you not persuade me that we were doing this for their good?"_**

_"Uhh…. Tobiume? 'Their' good? Toshiro's only one perso—Oh. You mean Hyourinmaru. *gasp* YOU like Hyourinmaru in that way? Oh my gosh! Eee! Why didn't you tell me? I'm so glad for you!"_

**_"Master Hinamori… calm yourself. You still are unsure if Toshiro loves you back. In the same sense, I am not sure if Hyourinmaru loves me back, either. It is quite hard to interpret his body language, as he basically is no different from your Toshiro Hitsugaya."_**

_"No need to be so formal…. Anyways, to go back on topic, you are right… we did this for their sake. I'm glad you have shaken me back to my senses."_

**_"You're welcome, Master Hinamori. You should get some sleep so that you can preserve as much energy as possible."_**

_"Thank you, Tobiume. Good night, for now."_

* * *

Matsumoto grinned sheepishly. Her captain wasn't here today! She could do whatever she wanted, at last! However, she had to do her paperwork, first. She had gotten into the habit of doing her share of the paperwork since her captain began to train daily to get stronger and stronger. It was painful to see her captain suffer so much. _"I guess the Winter War really took its toll on him. Stabbing Momo probably was the worst thing he had ever done in his life. I feel sorry for him… say…. Why am I happy that he's gone? He's usually gone every day, leaving me to do the paperwork. I guess it's alright for me to do his share, as well. He's pushing himself so hard for Momo, Momo's even begun to realize it. Huh…. On the topic of Momo… I haven't seen her around for the past few days. Usually she's here at least once every day. Maybe I'll pay her a visit."_

Matsumoto sat down at her captain's desk and got out a stamp from his drawer. She was about to take a sheet of paperwork and begin for the day when a small slip of paper caught her eye. Scribbled hastily in her captain's handwriting, was a note saying that he would be gone for a while. In a smaller sized writing, a single word was scrawled in a much messier fashion… 'Hinamori.'

Rangiku shivered. Her captain had gone to do something that involved Momo, something that Rangiku would have to get to the bottom of. Matsumoto decided that paperwork could wait.

* * *

Matsumoto sprinted down to the fifth division barracks. She had to check if Hinamori was alright. If not, why would her captain scribble something in the corner of the small note in a rush if she was perfectly fine? This was getting fishy.

Rangiku turned into the captain's office. The captain's desk was vacant, as it had been since the end of the Winter War, but the lieutenant's desk was, as well. _"How odd... Hinamori should be here doing paperwork."_ Matsumoto quickly peeked around the desk. It didn't look like it had been used in a couple of days. It was dusty and Rangiku knew that Momo absolutely hated dust on her desk. She ran out to find the nearest squad 5 member.

It was just her luck that when Matsumoto exited out of the office, she ran into the 5th division's 3rd seated officer.

"Hey! You there! 3rd seat of the fifth division…. Uhh…. Kaminokeigi Ruan, right?"

"Ahh! Lieutenant Matsumoto! I am honored that you remember my name, although you are not in my division. Is there anything there anything you need?" Kaminokeigi (first name) asked gently. She was a kind and gentle soul reaper; her voice was sometimes barely audible and was very shy. Despite her kind and timid personality, she was one of the best fighters out on the battlefield, quickly slashing down hollows for the pure intention of cleansing their souls and guiding them to Soul Society. It would be no surprise if Kaminokeigi was promoted lieutenant if Momo took the captain's exam and passed, which Rangiku had persuaded her to do in the near future.

"Yes, there is. I just was wondering if you happen to know where Lieutenant Hinamori has gone. She hasn't been around for the past few days."

"Oh? She probably forgot to tell, you, but she is on vacation leave. She had asked me and a few others to help out with the captain's and lieutenant's paperwork load while she was gone."

"Huh….. Thank you for your time. Your information was very helpful."

"It was my pleasure, Lieutenant Matsumoto."

Matsumoto walked off. Her hunch was right. Something was wrong with Hinamori and her captain had gone out to fix it. _"Maybe I should go and consult her journal. She never minded me reading it because everything in there was directly repeated to me afterwards… It'll be best to use whatever clues she has left behind." _Rangiku burst into Momo's private quarters and immediately ran to the floorboard where the journal was hidden. She lifted it up and peered inside and was quite shocked to see it wasn't there. _"Where could it have gone? I know she probably would have left it behind to leave me some clues about her whereabouts and her plans…. But what's this? Why are there traces of Captain Hitsugaya's reiatsu? Oh… shit. He must have found her journal. There were so many things in there that she didn't want him to see….. I have to get it back! I have to go to the Living World!"_

* * *

Matsumoto ran back to the tenth division barracks and found the nearest seated officers.

"Do my paperwork and the captain's! Don't ask questions! Have to go!" she quickly barked to the officer, probably scaring him out of his wits, "I'm counting on you, fifth seat!"

Rangiku quickly ran to the Senkaimon and demanded that she was let through. She had to explain to the Head-captain the whole reason for this string of events later. Right now she had to go and help save Momo and without another thought on mind, she ran through the gate that lead to the World of the Living.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ahh…. So really this chapter was a Matsumoto-based chapter. I hope you liked it. Kaminokeigi Ruan is my OC. Hehehe. Her name's basically mine in Japanese. Huehuehuehuehue.


	7. Chapter 7: They Meet Again

**Disclaimer:** Nope. I'm not Tite Kubo. He owns Bleach. I don't.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ahh. The 7th installment….. I really doubt anyone reads the beginning, so it's just gonna get shorter and shorter and shorter. Maybe it might as well disappear in all. Hmm. Let me know if you want the Author's notes to continue. Otherwise, I'll just go straight to the story. Hmm. I have time today, so I can write maybe two chapters. High school really isn't that vigorous…. Hmm.

* * *

**Legend: **"_Thinking"_, **_What's written in the letter/journal_**, "Talking", _Flashback, __**"zanpakuto speaking"**_

* * *

**Farewell, Hitsugaya-kun**

**Chapter 7:** They Meet Again

4 days left

Matsumoto burst through the opening to the World of the Living. Her first priority was to find her captain and retrieve the journal to possibly help him with the decoding of the journal's secret messages that were hidden. She paused for a moment, standing above the little town below, Karakura Town, trying to sense her captain's spiritual pressure. And she did. Quickly, she dashed off to an abandoned warehouse and found her captain snoring away, back flat, head to the side, and a small black leather-bound notebook lying on his chest. Bingo. There it was; Hinamori's journal. Matsumoto quickly snatched it, trying to disturb her captain's sleeping form as little as she possibly could. He stirred but did not wake. Good. She could slip away in peace.

* * *

Hitsugaya's eyes snapped wide open. He had lost track of time and had fallen asleep, analyzing the kido bomb over and over again to see if he could find a reversal spell for it. The journal really wasn't helping either. It basically stated all the knowledge he already knew about it. Great. Wait…. _"The journal! Where is it? What happened? I swear I fell asleep with it my hand! It couldn't have gotten very far…. But wait… what's this? Why do I sense Matsumoto's… Spiritual pressure… DAMMIT! She took the journal! That…. Wait. That might not be such a bad move on her part after all. If I track her down again…. I could ask her about it. I mean she and Hinamori were very close…. Hinamori! What day is it today?"_ Hitsugaya lurched forward and stood up. He had to resume his search for her. Grabbing his zanpakuto and knapsack, Hitsugaya dashed out of the abandoned warehouse he was staying at and quickly began his search for Hinamori.

Hitsugaya paused a few steps after leaving the abandoned warehouse. He had a feeling that someone was watching him. He stopped and looked around, but could not identify any spiritual pressure or spiritual pressure residue. Whoever was watching was doing a very good job. He started to pick up his pace. Again he stopped once more to try to find Hinamori's spiritual pressure. Bingo. It was faint, but it was a lead. Quickly he dashed off to downtown Karakura Town.

* * *

It only had been three days and Hinamori was stuck in bed, her spiritual pressure fluctuating immensely. She was fatigued and extremely weak. She couldn't manage to manifest her zanpakuto anymore, much less face Hitsugaya in a battle if their paths ever crossed… Oh how she wished he was here, holding her hand and easing her suffering. Looking out the window (half watching the heavy rain outside, half daydreaming), she could already imagine the tan skinned male, teal eyes as clear as ocean water, glaring at her angrily, pounding on the window. Wait. Pounding on her window? _"WHAT? How did he find me? I'm pretty sure I have a spiritual pressure-hiding gigai! What is happening now?"_ Hinamori peered out the window once more.  
"WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR, HINAMORI?! LET ME IN!" an extremely enraged Hitsugaya screamed. Obviously, he had been up for a long time, possibly worrying about her (Hinamori's heart began fluttering wildly at the thought of this), as he had dark bags under his eyes and his teal eyes were bloodshot. Those eyes…. The beautiful eyes she found herself easily lost in. "HINAMORI!"

She snapped back to the real world. Quickly, mustering whatever strength she had left and obviously forgetting her purpose of her mission, she unlatched the window and Hitsugaya quickly scrambled in. As soon as she reclosed the window, she realized what she had done and instantly put on her cold demeanor.  
"What do you want, Captain Hitsugaya?" Hinamori spat out. As much as it hurt her to do this, she was quite disgruntled at the fact that she had lost her sense of morals because of him. She turned around and quickly walked back to the bed in the room and plopped down, arms crossed. Little did she know, her fake icy façade had hair thin fractures; fractures in places that Hitsugaya knew where to touch on. And with a single brush of his words, her dam that blocked off her emotions would come crashing down.

"I want to know why…. Why you would do this to yourself and how to reverse this. You look awful."  
"No. I will tell you neither, but answer my one question…. How did you find me? I specifically told Urahara to give me a spiritual-pressure-concealing gigai. You shouldn't have been able to detect my spiritual pressure."

"….. Pfffffttttttt…..." Hitsugaya sounded like he was choking. Quickly, Hinamori turned around, worried that he might be injured in one way or another, but ended up facing a flustered Hitsugaya who was trying his best to keep a straight face. Obviously, he failed, "Pffffftttttttfahahahahahahahaha! Ahahahahaha!"  
"What's so funny!? Stop laughing! It's not funny!"  
"You stupid moron! Have you forgotten that Urahara's gigais work on spiritual pressure? You must be retarded! Ahaha! Even the Rukia Kuchiki of the 13 knows that! And she's been a shinigami for less time than you have! Ahahahahaha! Haha—"  
Hitsugaya's laughter was silenced by a weak, but accurate punch to the face.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" Hinamori screeched, "I never knew! Why can you still detect my spiritual pressure? Urahara never told me how this thing functions!"  
Instantly, Hitsugaya's face straightened out. It seemed as he had realized something grave and extremely life-threatening. Hinamori started to panic.  
"What? What? What's wrong? What did I do?"

"Hinamori. Are you feeling alright? How much spiritual energy do you have left? Are you still able to release your shikai? What about your bankai?"  
"Uhm….. No, not much, no, and no."

"Hinamori, you _do _know that you will fade from existence in less than a few days, due to this assessment of your strength, right?"  
"…. I'm not stupid, Hitsugaya-kun. I do know that. And I'm not backing out."  
"Oh…. Oh….. Hinamori…. I have one question for you. Just one. And then you can rest. Just answer my question."  
"…. Alright…. What is it?"  
"Why, Hinamori? Why would you do this to yourself? In the letter you said that you were doing this to protect me. I understand that part, but why, why would you ask me to forget you? Why would you ask me to forget something that means too much to me? Everything I had done was of my free will. Everything. I have wanted to protect you. And I have failed, well not really….. You're still alive. But nonetheless, I have failed most times, as you have gotten injured may times…. Because I wasn't able to protect you. I'd gladly bear the burden for you…. And I never want to see you cry again."  
Hitsugaya tilted Hinamori's face towards his. He could see the sadness in her eyes. Hinamori sniffled. A single tear slipped down her cheek. She was crying. Hitsugaya felt something in him snap and he brought the small, weak, sniffling lump closer to his chest, cradling Hinamori and rocking her back and forth. Hinamori turned towards the warmth of his chest and buried her face in his black kimono and sobbed. She put her arms around him and hugged him with as much strength as she could. Her icy demeanor had cracked and so had the dam that had kept back her emotions. She sobbed harder. Hitsugaya hugged her tighter and began to whisper into her ear.  
"You said…. In the letter…. You loved me, right? Do you still – love me?"  
"Y-y-yes, S-shir-ro-ch-chan. I-I love y-you… A-around the universe and b-back. I'll love you forever. Until my last breath."  
Hinamori's sobbing slowly ceased and she took her face away from Hitsugaya's chest. She looked deep into his teal blue eyes, pleading for a response. He understood what she was asking, sighed, and closed his eyes. And he smiled. Toshiro Hitsugaya smiled a pure, true to heart smile and rested his chin on the top of her head and laughed, heartily.  
"What are you, stupid? Of course I love you. You're my everything. My entire world. Heck! I can even say that the world will end if you die. If you're dead, I won't dare to live, because I can't live without you. You're my sun, my rain, my warmth, my light. I think about you twenty four seven, every week of the month, every month of the year, and every year that I live. You're always on my mind. Now, that you know this, don't even bother to doubt whether I love you again and if you ever ask me that….. I will…. I will punish you….. In my own ways."  
Hinamori's head shot up at this. She fearfully stared at Hitsugaya, who was sprawled on the bed, rubbing his neck, due to the force that had sent his neck bending far more backwards than he could normally stretch.  
"Owwwwwww… Hinamori, what was that for?"  
"You said you'll punish me! Why? What will you do?"  
"It was a joke, jeez. I won't actually punish you."  
Hinamori sighed in relief and she smiled. She crawled over to Hitsugaya who was still rubbing his neck and leaned forward, leaving just an inch in between their faces. She stared again, into the blue eyes that had always captivated her when they were much younger and living in the Jurinan. He stared back into her warm chocolate eyes that were slowly growing nearer. Her eyes closed and their lips touched. Hinamori felt an electric shock and she jumped back. She blushed profusely and turned away.  
"Uhh…. Ah…"  
"Oh. Right. I still have something to ask. How do you reverse this spell?"

"Well, Hinamori?"  
"I….. I don't know."

* * *

**Author's Note:** *GASP* Hinamori can't reverse her own spell! I sort of changed the story line. Heh. It should be a few chapters longer now. Stay tuned for the next chapter! Sorry…. My internet was down over the weekend and couldn't post this. Sorry for the late update.


	8. Chapter 8: Always at Your Side

**Disclaimer:** Tite Kubo : Bleach :: me : Farewell, Hitsugaya-kun. Analogies, ftw!

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ehhhh. This chapter is sort of a filler chapter. It goes along with the story line, but nothing much really goes on. It's just basically a link between chapter 7 and chapter 9. Eh. Sorry about the late update. I had a really bad writer's block, but to make it up to you guys, I'll post the next chapter on the deadline it's supposed to be due! So, basically, there will be a three day gap between this post and the next post. Cheers!

* * *

**Legend: **"_Thinking"_, **_What's written in the letter/journal_**, "Talking", _Flashback, __**"zanpakuto speaking"**_

* * *

**Farewell, Hitsugaya-kun**

**Chapter 8:** Always At Your Side

3 days left

Momo could barely move. She had been stuck in bed all morning, possibly due to the fact that she might had overtaxed herself, due to the events of late. Hitsugaya was by her, holding her hand with one of his and using the other to stroke it gently letting her know that he was there. She sighed, contentedly.  
"Shiro-chan?"  
"Hn?"  
"Don't leave me, okay?"  
"Idiot! How could I leave you in this state? You're as weak as a newborn and you expect me to leave you? How stupid can you be?"  
Hitsugaya's angry-sounding voice was heavily laced with worry and fear. Hinamori turned her head towards him and opened her eyes. She saw his furrowed eyebrows and pained expression and smiled.  
"I'm not stupid. I just wanted to make sure that you'll never leave my side again. Not until this ordeal is over…. Say…. Shiro-chan…. Can you tell me of the time we first ran into a hollow when we were younger? I always have liked it when you told stories. It made me feel like I was at home….."  
Momo smiled at him, her weak and tired face making Hitsugaya's heart melt. Hitsugaya could not resist that smile no matter what and that smile was a special smile. A smile just especially for him.  
"Alright, but you have to promise me you'll sleep right after I tell you."  
"Yes, Shiro-chan."  
"It started when we went to the market in search of candies for Granny…..

* * *

"Shiro-chan! Hurry and choose the candies! Obaa-san is waiting for us!" a young Hinamori urged her white-haired companion who was standing at the stall picking cadies and putting them into a small paper bag. She poked his stomach with much agility.  
"Agh! Shut it, Bed-wetter! I'm taking my time so that we'd like the candy we eat! It's not like we have a lot of money to choose whatever we please!" Hitsugaya yelped and shoved her to the side. Maybe just a tad too hard. Hinamori stumbled and fell to the ground. She looked up at him and down to her knee which had been badly scraped during her fall. Her eyes welled up with tears.  
"Shucks, Hinamori. Don't cry. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. Please don't cry. I didn't mean to push you that hard! I'm really sorry," Hitsugaya pleaded with the fallen girl. Hinamori sniffled and stood up but the injury she sustained on her knee was bleeding quite profusely and she fell back down. Quickly he turned to the shopkeeper.  
"Sir! Sir! Can you please spare a few wrappers? Please, sir? I'll pay a few kan extra! Just please let me borrow a few wrappers! I need them for my friend here!" He pleaded the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper looked at the helpless little girl and back at the white-haired boy. _"What a child…. Hair as white as snow…. Turquoise eyes as cold as winter. I wonder why this poor girl stays with this weird child. I probably should help her. I feel so sorry for her…" _Hitsugaya glared at the shopkeeper, his icy glaze telling him to hurry up. The shopkeeper quickly picked out some bags and gave it to the small outstretched hand, but changed his mind and set it on the table. Hitsugaya had no time for his rudeness and quickly snatched the bags. He ripped them and wrapped them around Hinamori's bleeding knee. He quickly stood her up.

"Are you alright, Hinamori? I didn't mean it. Honest."  
"Y-y-yeah… Shiro-chan I am."  
"You can choose the candy if you want."  
"R-really? Thank you! You'll love the watermelon candy I saw last time! The man let me try—"

_RAHHHHHHHAHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  
_ Hinamori spun around on her good leg and so did Hitsugaya and their eyes widened. It was a huge hollow…. And it was just about to have them as a meal.  
"Hinamori…"  
"Yeah… Shiro-chan?"  
"RUN!"  
Hitsugaya grabbed Hinamori's hand and began to sprint. They were able to make it a few yards before Hinamori's injured knee gave out and she fell to the ground. Hitsugaya tired to get her up but her knee kept on giving out. He finally gave up and helped Hinamori to sit by the nearest tree. He left her there and returned to face the hollow. Finding the nearest weapon he could, which just happened to be a zanpakuto left by the shinigami that had been eaten by the hollow. Hitsugaya unsheathed the zanpakuto.

**_"You cannot control me, young child. You are not my master."  
_**_"I don't care. Just help me save the girl. Help me defeat this hollow! Please. Just help me with this."  
__**"Young child, that is against my abilities."  
**__"Please, oh please, Great Spirit. Just help me save this girl. She's my hope and your master is dead."  
__**"He is not dead, yet. If I am still alive, my master remains alive."  
**__"Please, Great Spirit, help me save this girl."  
__**"Alright, young child, just this once. I will lend you my powers to defeat this enemy and save the girl you wish so desperately wish to save."  
**__"Thank you, o' Great Spirit."_

Toshiro held the zanpakuto and felt it take over his body. It was like being commanded. He obviously had no experience in fighting with katanas, so Hitsugaya held no objections about the whole 'I will take over your body thing', despite it being slightly too uncomfortable. The zanpakuto in his hand rose to about his head height and he jumped. The height of his jump was beyond far what he could have ever done without the zanpakuto spirit taking over him and it reached the very top of the hollow. _"So this is what power is like. It's what I have always thought it would be. With this amount of power… I can Hinamori forever. She'll never have to cry again."_ Hitsugaya's raised blade was abruptly brought down on the hollow's head. The mask cracked and the hollow began to dissipate. Slowly the power began to fade.

**_"My master is gone and I must leave with him. You are a good fighter, young child. You might want to enter the academy and train hard. You possess a large amount of reiatsu and skill."  
_**_"Wait! Thank you so much for lending me your strength! It meant so much to me! Thank you, Great Spirit!"  
__**"My name…. My name is… Raionreijingu**__ (The Raging Lion)__**…. Good bye."**_

"Thank you…. So much…. It means everything to me…" Hitsugaya whispered. The zanpakuto disintegrated in his hands, the particles of spiritual energy floating through the air. He turned around and walked to Momo, who was leaning against him and staring at him in awe.  
"Waaaah! Shiro-chan that was awesome! You are so cool!"  
"Hush, Bed-wetter. Don't call me Shiro-chan."

"Anyways, let's go get that candy for Obaa-san! She must have been waiting a long time for us!" Hinamori joyfully said, ignoring Hitsugaya's remark. She stood up but her injured knee caused her to stumble and fall. Hitsugaya caught her out of reflex. She stared into his eyes and smiled.  
"Thank you, Shiro-chan," she quietly said as she shifted her weight to her good leg and draped her arm over his neck. Together they stumbled back to the candy stand and soon after, trudged their way back to the old cottage they called 'home'.

* * *

"Are you happy now, Bed-wetter?" Hitsugaya grumbled as he finished his retelling of events. When there was no reply, he began to panic and quickly looked down at the curled up form in his lap. Hinamori was simply sleeping. Hitsugaya chuckled.  
"Silly Momo….. You always make me worry," he said. He picked up her sleeping body and laid her down, her head resting comfortably on the fluffy motel pillow. He smiled at the beauty she possessed when she slept; all the worried that was shown on her face dissipated. He bent down to her face, hovering above her forehead and closed his eye. Slowly, he lowered his face until his lips made contact and gave Hinamori a little kiss on the forehead.  
"Good night, my love. Sleep well."

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ahhh…. So sorry about this late update. I had a pretty bad writer's block. It's really hard to write this chapter when you can't think of anything. I'd really appreciate it if one of you readers would suggest me something to add into filler chapters! To be honest, the stranger zanpakuto speaking to him might not even be possible… Idk. Maybe it's a manifestation? J


	9. Chapter 9: Matsumoto's Interference

**Disclaimer:** Nope. I don't own Bleach…. And probably never will.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The 9th installation of my first fanfiction! What a success! I can't believe I actually have written this much…. ._. This is much more that anything I have ever written. *life milestone: achieved* Maybe I should trickle in a little Doctor Who? Jk. This isn't a crossover. Maybe I should do that for my next fanfiction! Hooray! Stay tuned, everyone!

* * *

**Legend: **"_Thinking"_, **_What's written in the letter/journal_**, "Talking", _Flashback, __**"zanpakuto speaking"**_

* * *

**Farewell, Hitsugaya-kun**

**Chapter 9:** Matsumoto's Interference

2 days left

Matsumoto was sick of reading Momo's journal. There wasn't really any new information, after reading the journal almost ten times. However, there was one thing that the journal mentioned that she didn't have. The kido bomb. The journal had described what it did, but not the lifespan the victim would have left and when she thought about it, she had sensed a dark spiritual presence lingering around her captain as she stole the journal. Maybe she ought to go pay him another visit.

She wearily stood up from where she was sitting, by a nearby forest. Matsumoto shook her legs out; they had been getting quite numb from sitting down and reading for so long and slowly trudged around trying to sense her captain's spiritual pressure. _"Captain….. What is happening? What is happening to you? To Hinamori? Where are you?" _she quietly thought to herself. Being quiet wasn't one of Matsumoto's forte areas (she had said so herself), but sometimes the loud and aloof Matsumoto would have to go away and be replaced by the more serious, understanding one. Rangiku sighed. Suddenly her eye twitched and she could feel a tiny sliver of her Captain's spiritual pressure…. Mixed with….. with….. Momo's! Rangiku quickly dashed off in their direction.

* * *

When Rangiku opened the motel door, she almost started squealing at the scene she had walked into. Hitsugaya was sitting crisscrossed, chest facing the bed, with his head on the pillow and was holding one of Hinamori's pale hands. Hinamori was lying down, quite close to his face, muttering something about happiness, protection, and….. Tobiume? Rangiku chuckled at the fact that Momo talked in her sleep. Quietly, as to not disturb the sleeping couple, she tiptoed over to her captain and began a spiritual energy scan to see if she could pick up anything.

Sure enough, readings were fed directly to her of massive spiritual energy all linking to a single spot in her captain's pocket…. Which happened to be located on his bottom. Matsumoto groaned. The only time that her captain was disorganized just happened to be during this encounter. Matsumoto knew she was going to regret this, but she silently crept over to her captain, anyway. Rangiku reached down, her hand nearing her captain's rear end, inch by inch.

Until her captain's eyes snapped right open and focused directly on her face. Hitsugaya's eyes showed a series of emotions; shock, fear, recognition, frustration, and a creepily murderous intent. Her captain turned around and let go of Hinamori's hand. She stirred. Hitsugaya glared at Matsumoto and in the calmest, quietest, and most dangerous tone he could possibly manage he said…  
"Vice-captain Rangiku Matsumoto…. Were you just about to grope my bottom? Your captain's bottom?" Hitsugaya was mere seconds from exploding. In fact, he already would have exploded if it wasn't for the peacefully sleeping form next to him. His eyes narrowed even more than what Matsumoto thought was possible. Rangiku began to panic. Her captain was totally misunderstanding the situation!

"No! Nononono! No way, Captain! Why would I want to touch your butt? Ewwww!... Haha….?" came Rangiku's reply, her derogative phrase turning a question, due to her nervousness. Hitsugaya's eyes narrowed even further. _"Okay, Captain's eyes are reaaaalllly starting to freak me out. A bit… Just a little bit…"_

"If you weren't trying to demonstrate an act of inappropriate conduct, please explain to me why your hand was anywhere near my bottom, Vice-captain," Hitsugaya coolly replied. Matsumoto began chuckling slightly with one hand behind her head.

"Heee….heee….. Captain…. I…. uh…. Bakudo Number 61; Rikojokoro!" Rangiku quickly responded. Instantly, six rods of light imprisoned her captain. She knew it wouldn't hold for long but it left him a sufficient amount of time to seize the kido orb that had been mentioned in Hinamori's journal. "I needed to find the kido bomb; the thing that you have. I need it. I think Hinamori has activated it and I think that I can reverse the spell."

It was silent for a while. Hitsugaya didn't dare move. Was he dreaming or did he just hear the magic words he needed to hear? _"I had forgotten… I had found Momo and forgotten… forgotten about the cure… Hah. I am hopeless. Matsumoto… There are just sometimes where I can't live without you. Thank you so much. Matsumoto, I owe you so much."_ Hitsugaya turned to face Matsumoto… and smiled. Her captain actually smiled… a genuine smile full of appreciation and gratefulness. He closed his eyes, the corners of his mouth still turned upwards.

"Matsumoto…. Matsumoto…. Whatever will I do without you… Thank you… so much." Rangiku looked into his eyes and was surprised to find that his eyes were watery. She smiled back and said, "Captain, I said I may. I'm not sure if I actually can help, I mean—"

"Just try, please. I can tell that she doesn't have much longer. Whatever it is, it's draining out her spiritual energy very very quickly. I can estimate that she only has at least 24 hours at the most. Please, just try…."

"Alright." Matsumoto turned to Hinamori, her usually peaceful sleeping face laced with worry and pain. She closed her eyes and sighed. It pained her to see one of her closest companions weak and helpless. And from that moment, Rangiku swore she would try her hardest to help Hinamori out, no matter what happened.

"Captain. I have to wake her. I need to run some tests on her and get her opinion on things. It's crucial." Rangiku quietly explained, knowing that her captain would get very defensive if she didn't state the reasons why she needed Hinamori's awareness and woke her. Her captain nodded. "I'll wake her."

Hitsugaya gently shook the sleeping mass awake,, whispering to her softly that she was alright; that she was safe. Slowly, as if in a reverie, Hinamori opened her eyes and looked into his. She smiled. Then, she became aware of Matsumoto's presence and awoke entirely, gasping and sitting up as if she had been shocked. "R-rangiku-san? What are you doing here?"

"I'm… here to help you. To help you reverse whatever you did yourself. Now tell me, do you know how to reverse this?"

"… No… I don't. I didn't engineer a spell to reverse it. I had planned on using it on Aizen if I had the chance. I didn't want to create a spell to reverse it just in case he tried to change my mind in the end. I forgot about it and when I kept seeing Hitsugaya-kun injured, I lost it and blamed it all on me. I began to hate myself and I uncovered my bomb. It was engineered to suck the spiritual energy out of a shinigami in just a mere week. It's a sad thing really; to die like this… Getting your life force sucked away, little by little… It's exhausting… I can't even really walk around anymore. I'm sort of glad I activated the bomb on myself. I couldn't let anyone to have suffered a death like this one."

Hinamori smiled at Rangiku, her smile full of pain and weariness. At that point, Rangiku's heart broke and she started to cry, tears slipped out of her eyes and fell upon floor of the room. Hinamori got out of bed and knelt to the ground, hugging Rangiku's sobbing figure, rocking her back and forth. Hitsugaya stood in the back of the room, letting them have their reunion, but this was going on for too long, he cleared his throat. Hinamori looked up, weary and tired, and Matsumoto squirmed inside of Hinamori's embrace. Rangiku stood up and wiped her face quickly, remembering what she had come for. "Uhm… Momo-chan… I came to ask you a few questions. It'll be a great help to my research. We'll be able to help you, possibly find a cure for this. Just answer me honestly. Please?"

"Alright…" Hinamori replied testily. She sat down, obviously worn out from being up for so long and moving around. She sighed. "Go ahead."

* * *

After a while of questioning, Hitsugaya and Matsumoto put Hinamori back to bed. They had gotten enough information out of her so that they could try to create a spell to reverse the effects of the kido bomb.

"Captain Hitsugaya, we ought to process all of this new information and invent a spell… We can do it…"

"Yeah, Matsumoto. We can…."

"Then what are you waiting for? Let's start!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Please review! :) Uhhh…. Heh… Sorry about all the boringness. It wasn't a really eventful chapter. Still got a pretty bad writer's block and I can't really think of anything. What's gonna happen in the next chapter? Not really sure. But keep tuned! It'll come out soon!


	10. Chapter 10: Undeterred Determination

**Disclaimer:** Nope. Not Tite Kubo. He's so much awesomer than me. (Yeah. I know 'awesomer' isn't a word)

* * *

**Author's Note:** *gulps* It's down to Hinamori's last 24 hours! Whatever will happen to her? Is her fate sealed? Will she manage to scrape by in the nick of time? Read and find out! J

* * *

**Legend: **"_Thinking"_, **_What's written in the letter/journal_**, "Talking", _Flashback, __**"zanpakuto speaking"**_

* * *

**Farewell, Hitsugaya-kun**

**Chapter 10:** Undeterred Determination

24 hours left

Matsumoto and Hitsugaya had been up all night trying to find a cure; however, with no such luck. They were beginning to panic, as they knew Hinamori's time was soon drawing to a close. Hitsugaya glanced over to the sleeping form on the bed and felt dizzy. He sure felt tired, but right now was not the time to sleep. He had to find the cure for Hinamori's condition along with Matsumoto. Matsumoto grunted and Hitsugaya turned his head back to the piece of paper he was scribbling on. It was full of equations and existing kido spells and combinations of kido spells no one had ever thought of. Hitsugaya closed his eyes, exhausted and quite astounded. _"Momo…. You are one clever shinigami. Whatever spell you activated was brilliant and practically irreversible. Your skills in kido are absolutely amazing. I am proud to have known you—what am I saying? You're not going to leave us… right?"_ He sighed. Matsumoto grunted again.

"Captain. It's not time to sleep. We have to find the cure for Momo, and fast. I'm sleepy, too, but I'm still up, aren't I?"

"Matsumoto… why don't you go to sleep…. I'll stay up for a few more hours to calculate some formulas and I'll wake you up and we'll switch, alright?" Hitsugaya wearily said. Matsumoto looked at him and nodded, a small, tired smile decorating her droopy face. Hitsugaya turned back to the small table which had the papers and began writing furiously.

* * *

Hyourinmaru stared desperately at the sheathed form of Tobiume, longing to enter the dreamlike inner world of his master's love. He could if he wished, but at the moment he was sure that Tobiume was fast asleep, tired and weak. This spell his master kept on talking about drained the spiritual energy of a soul reaper, so it must be draining the life force of Tobiume, herself. Hyourinmaru began to think that he had to check up on her, for at the moment only he could.

He stepped closer to the sheathed sword and knocked a few times, feeling quite silly. The sword began to glow, slightly, and he knew he had permission to enter Lieutenant Hinamori's soul world. A small gate, typically found in entrances to a garden, appeared and Hyourinmaru pushed it open, revealing a beautiful plum tree farm… except it wasn't so beautiful anymore. The plum trees had shriveled and died since the last time he had entered Momo Hinamori's soul world. The beautiful blossoming petals were gone. The trees bore no fruit and the grass on the ground had turned brown. Hyourinmaru's heart began to beat furiously; he was obviously afraid of the condition Tobiume might be in.

Hyourinmaru began to run around looking for the sight of the petite kimono-clad girl, alas, to no avail. He began to walk among the dead plum trees, hope for the girl that he loved to still be alive and well. It was then that he spotted a small frail form breathing laboriously and slumped against a tree a few hundred meters away (let's just assume Hyourinmaru has eyes like a hawk). Instantly, his muscles began to move at full speed, contracting and expanding, contracting and expanding, rhythmically until he reached his destination. Hyourinmaru bent down to the petite girl and nearly cried in shock of what state the poor spirit was in. Her face was gaunt and she was as thin as a skeleton. Her hair was quite tousled and her once beautiful kimono and sash with bells were reduced to dirty rags. In a few short words, Tobiume looked like death.

"Tobiume? Tobiume? Please wake up. I'm here to help you," Hyourinmaru's panicky voice urged. Tobiume stirred. Her eyes opened and she stared into the healthy face of Hyourinmaru, at first not recognizing who had called her. Hyourinmaru began to shiver. Here was the girl that he loved, weak, dying, barely able to recognize him. His heart was stabbed with invisible needles over and over again at the mere thought of it. He closed his eyes and turned to the limp form and gently lifted her up. He sat down, leaning against the tree and cradled her in his arms. He stroked her face tenderly; the cold skin beneath him was colder than even he, himself.

"H-hyourinmaru…. Is…. Is that you?" a weak, raspy voice called. He looked down at the small face, a face that he loved to see smiling up at him every time their paths crossed. Her eyes seemed so big and her cheekbones were so pronounced. Hyourinmaru's voice was caught in his throat as he began rocking back and forth, trying to get the small body to fall asleep and rest. Hyourinmaru felt something slither out from his eye. He gently laid Tobiume's body in his lap, her head leaning against his muscular chest, and brought one of his hands up to his eyes to wipe whatever it was away. He was shocked to see that when he pulled his hand from his face that it was wet. Hyourinmaru was crying. The brave, strong, legendary ice zanpakuto was crying tears of pain and sorrow. Now, he realized, now he understood the full meaning of torture.

Hyourinmaru picked Tobiume and began to walk someplace where he could lay her down and make her comfortable. It felt as he had been walking for miles until he reached the perfect place. The grass was still fairly green and the trees were still healthy, but the smell of death still lingered in the air. He set down her body and shifted her head carefully on a bed of grass, which served as a pillow. He took her thin hand in his much larger one. With his head bowed and tears still dripping down is face, Hyourinmaru vowed that he would stay with her until the very end.

Hyourinmaru lay his head down next to the sleeping zanpakuto spirit and closed his eyes. He'd tell her what he needed to say to her when she woke up.

* * *

18 hours left

Hitsugaya sighed wearily. He had been working for six hours straight and yet he had not progressed any farther. His eyes started to droop. He stood up and stretched, a huge yawn occupying his mouth as he began to speak to tell Matsumoto to wake up. When Rangiku didn't respond he trudged over to her busty body and began shaking her shoulder with his foot.

"Matsumoto…. It's time to wake *yawn* up," Hitsugaya managed to say. Matsumoto just turned over on her side. Hitsugaya was beginning to lose his patience. He wanted to sleep, too! "Matsumoto! Up! Now!"

Her eyes snapped open and Matsumoto scrambled out of the futon she was sleeping on. "Captain! What time is it? Is it my turn? Get some sleep! You look like a zombie!"

"Yeah…. I wonder why. I've been working for six hours. It's your turn. Get to work," a grumpy Hitsugaya replied, flopping onto the futon that Matsumoto had slept on. He closed his eyes and was instantly snoring. Rangiku looked at her captain and smiled. His furrowed brows were furrowed further and he had bags under his eyes. Oh the things her captain would do for what he loved…

* * *

Tobiume began to stir in her sleep and like a nerve impulse, Hyourinmaru sat straight up and waited patiently for the plum girl's eyes to open. It didn't, but rather, she began to speak.

"Hyourinmaru… Why are you here?" a gentle, soothing (yet still a bit raspy) voice filled the air. How Hyourinmaru had loved to hear that voice. Tobiume's eyes opened and she turned her head to look him straight in the eye. Hyourinmaru was shocked to see how she looked at him with such intensity and deepness; looking straight through him as if he wasn't there. He gulped and opened his mouth to speak.

"Uhhhh….." Hyourinmaru's normally serious, mature, and controlled attitude melted into jelly for a split second. He blushed and cleared his throat. "You're dying."

"….."

"….."

The air was pregnant with silence and it did not look like Tobiume was going to speak anytime soon. He closed his eyes and began to speak.

"I'm here because this might be the last chance I could ever see you again."

"Oh… You didn't have to, you know… I-it was my—"

"I don't care if you did it for me. I wanted to see you again and you can't stop me from doing that. I heard why Lieutenant Hinamori did this through my master, but what I don't understand was why you would go along with the plan. It was unreasonable to do so…"

"It was…" Tobiume stopped mid-sentence and in a slightly harsher tone she exclaimed, "Why do you care?"

Hyourinmaru shook his head and smiled at her naivety. Tobiume glared up at him, not quite sure why he was smiling at such a serious question. Hyourinmaru rolled his eyes and decided he'd have to break down his motive into baby words.

"This is why, you sour plum," he whispered as he bent down close to her ear. Tobiume shuddered at the feeling of his warm breath against her cold body (she's dying, so of course her body would be cold. Plus, she's dressed in rags). She froze in her spot as Hyourinmaru's warm breath shifted from her ear to her cheek and stopped right in front of her mouth. He was closer to her than he had ever been before. She could smell his minty breath and could see the long lashes of his eyes. She could see the fine ragged edges of the teal tattooed 'x' that spread across his nose and could feel the smoothness of his long blue hair tickling her neck as he leant over her face. Tobiume closed her eyes and opened them a second later to see that he was drawing closer and closer to her face and instinctively, she closed her eyes and leaned forward and closed the gap. _"This feels so right,"_ she thought. _"So incredibly perfect. I can't leave him. I can't leave my prince of ice." _And somewhere in a dreamland far away, her master, was thinking the exact same thing.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Hola. Sorry about the late post. I was realllllyyyyy busy. The rest of the day will continue to the next chapter unlike the previous chapters. On a different matter…. Sorry about these kiss scenes. Never been kissed before, so how should I know how they work? O.o If it seems awkward or anything, just tell me! I could always use some advice! Please review! PS I will probably miss next week's deadline. I bruised my middle finger pretty badly and it hurts to type, write, use chopsticks, and etc. In fact, it hurts to type right now…..

**Please review! Please review! Please review! :D (I've seen other writers do this, so I thought I'd try.) Please review!**


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